Czeching out the next country over

Our drawing room

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We also had a living room with two sofas, one of which pulled-out as a bed. It felt very retro in there.

A view from the bedroom window

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To the immediate left is the rocky outcrop that people could hike to in order to see the big cross. Down below is the beginning of the pedestrian zone that follows the course of the river past all the curative spas.

A closer look at the spa center

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That big modern building is the main hot water spring of Karlovy Vary. On the far right where the blue mesh covers the building's facade is where we eventually semi-legally parked our car.

Grand Hotel Pupp

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This place was quite a contrast to our humble little home for the next two nights. Rooms were triple the price of ours but they do get a chocolate on their pillows each night. They also have an actual parking lot.

Elegant but not exorbitant

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Prices for the cheapest rooms are around $225.00 per night which isn't insane, but I'll settle for a comfortable room at a cheaper price. Karlovy Vary is a pretty inexpensive town overall. Meals are reasonable and souvenir prices were cheaper than Germany.

A grandiose little town

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A variety of architectural styles were on display as we walked along the roadway past numerous hot water spas. I expected to see lots of decrepit old folks in wheelchairs and using walkers to get to the curative waters. Instead it was mostly dazed and confused tourists like ourselves.

This is the kind of treatment I was expecting

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When I planned to come to this spa town I was under the impression that the visitor checks into a spa facility where you tell the attendants about your issues and they prescribe a treatment. Apparently this ad depicts a place that does handle things that way, but for the most part visitors are left to fill up their water containers with mineral water and drink to good health.

Just one of many spa fountains

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And from what we could see there were dozens of them dispensing free hot water.

Appealing to the Russians

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It's interesting that the people the Czechs despised for occupying their country for almost 50 years are now a major patron of their economy. The Czechs bravely stood up to the Red Army on numerous occasions and were continually suppressed and oppressed but now the Russkies invade daily via tour bus and spirit away Czech goods and service leaving only hard currency behind. Then again, they also forgave the Western countries that abandoned them in their struggles against the Commies. Tourism makes for short memories. Right Cuba?

Karlovy Vary skyscrapers

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When the visiting crowds began to come to Karlovy Vary in the early days of train travel the locals had limited room to build facilities for the influx of visitors. They had no choice but to build upward in the narrow Tepla river valley.

People love to dress funny in Karlovy Vary

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We were unable to determine the significance of this gathering of men in traditional costumes. There was a choir of women nearby singing foreign songs. Maybe some sort of mating ritual?

The mighty Tepla river

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This wasn't much of a river flowing through the downtown area. The depth of this creek was less than 6 inches.

Reminds me of Bath, England

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The colonnades on the right look very similar to those near the Roman baths in Bath, UK. But as much as I love that historic English city I found Karlovy Vary even more relaxing and quaint. Things seemed much less hectic and commercialized here.

Parkkolonnade

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Most of the buildings in Karlovy Vary were built in the Baroque style. This structure was more Victorian Age and covered a thermal spring at the opposite end.

Mmmmmm

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On our initial walk through town we passed by this little stand. She was making "Trdelnik". According to Wikipedia "Trdelník is a kind of spit cake. It is made from rolled dough that is wrapped around a stick, then grilled and topped with sugar and walnut mix."

Travel advice

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When you see something you like don't say "I'll come back to it later". Odds are you won't.

I can't believe I passed this by

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We were looking for a place to have dinner so I told Gail we would come back and get one of these for dessert. By the time we left the restaurant this booth was closed. It was the only one we saw. We passed it twice again the next day, but each time there were long lines. Shoulda. Coulda. Woulda.

It's beer time

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Make mine a Bud.